


Three Little Words

by al_ex_an_d_er_hamiltons



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Easing David's Anxiety through Physical Affection, Ficlet, Fluff, M/M, Patrick is a tactile person, soft boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 05:42:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20670248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/al_ex_an_d_er_hamiltons/pseuds/al_ex_an_d_er_hamiltons
Summary: How does one say those three little words when they're not ready to actually *say* them?





	Three Little Words

**Author's Note:**

> This is something very short that I came up with on a whim. I've been a little blocked up (sorry for anyone waiting on my final installment of This Year's Love- it's coming....eventually) but hopefully this is a sign things will be coming along soon. 
> 
> This was not edited more than me giving it a once-over so sorry in advance for any errors.

There were many things Patrick liked about being with David. He was dramatic and funny and charismatic. He was detail-oriented and smart. Patrick liked watching him work, liked making him laugh, liked sharing things with him.

Patrick couldn't deny he especially liked being with David _physically_. Prior to their relationship, sex for him was a box to be checked, an expectation he met with little enthusiasm. With David, things were different. Through stolen moments, they spent time mapping each other's bodies with their mouths and fingers, hands ghosting along throats, hair being gently pulled. A litany of soft gasps and swear words and each other's names escaping their lips, quietly, with the reverence of a prayer. Patrick adored every second of it, relished figuring out just what to do to make David come completely undone- and relished knowing that David knew how to do the same for him. 

Those moments were rare, however; they had to wait until Ray was gone or the Rose family was out for the evening, and it was often weeks of unsatisfactory fumbling in the back room of the store or back seat of the car that held them over until their next opportunity to "connect," as David had once put it.

Some nights when Ray was home,Patrick would ask David to stay over anyway, especially if David seemed like he was feeling anxious and overworked and tense. Ray being home just meant their bedroom activity was limited to things that were quieter and less embarrassing when they were inevitably interrupted.

And honestly, those nights were some of Patrick's favorite, building an intimacy of a different kind between them, mostly clothed but still pressed closely together, everything soft and sweet and hazy around the edges.

On nights like this, Patrick would sometimes use his fingertips to draw gently on the soft skin of David's back to help him relax. Sometimes he drew words, or pictures, or aimless zigzags and spirals. Sometimes Patrick would write song lyrics or their names, or draw animals or David's favorite foods or little vignettes from the store. David would try to guess what Patrick was drawing, and sometimes he was right. Something about this gentle contact helped David relax, forget whatever anxieties were clouding his mind and tightening his chest. His breathing would slow, his muscles would loosen, and he would eventually drift off to sleep.

Patrick wouldn't always stop drawing right away, though. Once he knew David had dozed off, he'd write the truth he didn't want David to try to guess at. Three words he wasn't ready to say out loud, written over and over again against David's skin. The secret that he knew, and hoped David knew, but neither of them could admit just yet. 

He learned the phrase in other languages expressly for this purpose, pressing the different letters and characters into David's skin, invisibly written between shoulder blades, freckles dotting the "i's". He hoped David could feel it, even as he slept, the intention and meaning behind this ritual, each stroke of Patrick's finger a promise for their life together. 

Jag älskar dig

Σ'αγαπὠ

ti amo

איך ליבע איר

Szeretlek

Te amo

je t'aime

kocham Cię

我爱你

ich liebe dich

ik hou van jou

I love you.

**Author's Note:**

> Shoutout to all my discord/ twitter pals for providing the translations. I didn't want to use google because I know there are different words for different types of love. That being said, sorry for any mistakes or errors!


End file.
